


The warmth of summer's son.

by thingsishouldntbedoing - discontinued (arminoni)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, F/M, Frozen Crossover, M/M, frozen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-25
Updated: 2014-01-25
Packaged: 2018-01-10 00:11:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1152479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arminoni/pseuds/thingsishouldntbedoing%20-%20discontinued
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some said it was a curse placed upon the royal family that had frozen the fjord and cast the country into frigid chaos. Others, still, said that the Crown Prince had usurped his father’s throne and cast a spell upon the land. And then there was the truth. The true reason why winter had come and never left the once prosperous capital city of Sina.</p><p>The warmth of summer's son shall melt the ice of winter's shun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The warmth of summer's son.

**Author's Note:**

> So a bunch of people wanted me to write this. Here it is. This first chapter is kind of short but they shouldn't be from now on.

The storms had raged for years. So long that children had been born and entered school without ever seeing the green grasses of summer, so long that some had forgotten the feeling of a warm breeze filled with the fresh scent of the fjord, so long that many thought it would never end. 

Some said it was a curse placed upon the royal family that had frozen the fjord and cast the country into frigid chaos. Others, still, said that the Crown Prince had usurped his father’s throne and cast a spell upon the land. And then there was the truth. The true reason why winter had come and never left the once prosperous capital city of Sina.

* * *

Winds howled between the frozen evergreens, snow heavy upon their branches as a lone figure staggered in the cold, face covered by a thick scarf. He blew hot air onto his hands, cupping his gloves over his face to warm his fingers, and wished that maybe he would have worn an extra pair of pants. Or maybe the extra set of socks that his mother had almost insisted on.

 _If I could get some shelter I could ride out the storm._ He hoisted his rifle and pack higher on his shoulder and squinted through the flakes that clung to his lashes and gathered at the edges of his vision. He hadn’t expected a storm, there hadn’t been a cloud in the sky, but the ominous thunder that shook him to the bone had him rethinking that judgement. He should have been more careful, then again, hindsight was always clearer.

He’d always heard freezing to death was like falling asleep. You didn’t feel the cold anymore. You couldn’t become warm again. You simply hung on a thin thread of steadily decreasing body temperature as your organs shut down one by one. He’d seen someone frozen to death before, how their lips were almost black and their eyes hung, half closed, over glassy eyes. That was the last thing he wanted-- to die out here in this storm and be buried in the snow and ice… but he was starting to think that digging a hole in the snow and burying himself would be a better idea than wasting energy walking.

His limbs were becoming heavy, movements hindered by the waist high snow and biting winds. He wished he could see where he was going, closing his eyes against the icy air for only a moment, praying that he wouldn’t walk over a cliff-- his eyes snapped open in response to that thought, looking around in a panic.

“I’ll just have to bury myself,” his voice broke upon the wind, cut short and close to his lips. _Who am I talking to?_ He slowed, blowing hot air onto his hands again. _I’m going to die._ His heart began to pound at the thought. _Even if I bury myself… do I have enough body heat left?_ He could no longer feel his feet and his knees were beginning to buckle with each step, and prayers began to work their way out between his teeth. _Please._ He stumbled, catching himself on a boulder. _I need help._  
  
It was as if the gods answered him and through the thick flakes passing his face his eyes fell on something gleaming blue in the distance. Something that looked oddly like--  
  
“A palace,” he breathed and started for it, feet barely cutting through the thick snow. _Please let me make it._ His eyes burned with salted tears as he reached the staircase, stepping up and grabbing the bannister to start his climb up towards the glistening door.  
  
He didn’t see any guards, placing his fingers against the chilled engraving. _Should I knock?_ He lifted his hand, but before his knuckles could reach the glassy surface the doors swung wide with a decisive boom that echoed through the entry hall so loud he thought his head might burst… but it was _warm_ inside and that was all that mattered.  
  
“Hello?” He bit out the word through chattering teeth, taking a step into the hallowed hall. “There’s a blizzard and… I might freeze…” He took another step in and the doors began to swing shut. “Shit!” He ran forward, half-frozen feet sliding on the icy ground as he threw himself down, crashing into the foot of a beautiful statue as he was sealed inside the cavernous entry. “This place is…” He looked around, head smarting as he nearly slid again on the ice. “It’s made of--”  
  
“Ice,” a voice finished and his heart leapt high into this throat. He searched the room wildly, eyes landing finally on a figure at the top of a staircase above him. The man was watching him with an unreadable expression, face as smooth as the ice Eren now scrabbled against to stand. “You are welcome to stay here the night, but don’t--” he winced when Eren broke a piece off the statue he had crashed into. “Don’t touch anything.”  
  
“Really? You don’t… want to ask m-me who I am?” Eren shuddered.  
  
“I don’t care who you are as long as you’re gone tomorrow morning,” he turned and walked through a half-open door behind him.  
  
“Wait! Who are you?” Eren found his footing, starting up the stairs after him. “What’s going on?”  
  
“Stay back!” He flung his hand out and Eren stopped in his tracks. “Don’t… come any closer to me…” There was a sort of desperation in his eyes that drew Eren in and stole the air from his lungs.  
  
“You don’t… have to be afraid of me,” he took another step and pulled away the scarf from around his mouth, searching the man’s face as he slunk around the corner.  
  
“Don’t you listen? I said stay away from me! I’m allowing you to stay here without question. You do as I ask!” His face hardened and Eren hesitated. Closer, now, he could see the pale curve of his throat between the folds of his collar and the stark black of what small shocks of hair escaped the spiked edges of his hair to curl against his forehead. He could see the dark lashes that framed the palest powder blue eyes he could have imagined, or perhaps he wouldn’t have-- not the way they reflected the shades of the ice around them, the way they seemed to shift to the softest gray as he shied away, slender fingers curled around the door frame he had tried to hide behind.  
  
“I uh…” Eren wondered when he’d stopped blinking, dumbstruck by the man before him, and jerked his head away. “Thanks… I guess?” He glanced over once more to watch his shoulders relax, fingers releasing the ice he’d been clutching. “Where can I get warm?”  
  
His mouth worked around silent words that spoke of irritation when he punctuated them with a heavy sigh, “There are a hundred rooms in this place. I’m sure you can find one.”  
  
“If… if this place is made of ice… why is it so warm?”  
  
For the second time the dark haired man appeared as if he might roll his eyes, turning to retreat up the stairs behind him, “Figure it out.”  
  
“Can I light a fire?”  
  
“Why wouldn’t you be able to?”  
  
“Well this place is made of ice right? I mean… wouldn’t it melt?”  
  
At that the sorcerer scoffed, shrugging off the insult with a sneer, “If you managed to melt my ice it would be a damned miracle.” He left Eren with the echoes of his footsteps, vanishing up to a landing far above him.  
  
“What a weird guy,” Eren glanced around and slipped, bracing himself with wide knees. “This ice is going to take some getting used to.”

* * *

“Well you’re a goddamned genius,” he chided himself as he ran his fingers over the sleek surface of his dresser. “Planning on inviting the rest of the city over for a drink and a party as well?” He flicked at the mirror-like surface and nearly slipped on his own ice when something far below him crashed, echoing up to his room. “Who needs the whole fjord when you have this guy?”  
  
He sighed as he walked over to the overlook, pushing the curtains out of the way to look down into the depths of his palace.  
  
“Oh shit! Hi!” The voice reached him like an echo, faint and broken. “I’m so sorry I--”  
  
“Do you mind?” He wondered why he was even bothering to talk to this psychopath -- that was the only word he could think of for him, because who else would be insane enough to go hiking in a blizzard-- much less why he continued to do so despite this deduction of his mental instability. “I asked you not to touch anything and that’s twice now you’ve destroyed something of mine.”  
  
“I slipped and-- I mean the floor _is_ made of _ice._ ”  
  
“As if I’d forgotten.”  
  
“Well… uh so I’m away from you… does that mean you’ll tell me your name now?” The speck of damp brown clothing had his neck craned back to look up at him and the sorcerer felt a surge of playful delight.  
  
“My name is Levi,” he answered.  
  
“Levi… that’s a nice n-- _Levi?_ ”  
  
“Yes, Levi, now--”  
  
“As in _King_ Levi?”  
  
“You are by far the most thick skulled individual I’ve ever met.”  
  
“I had heard that you…”  
  
“Whatever you heard it likely wasn’t true,” his voice softened.  
  
“Pardon?”  
  
“Never mind, just get warm and _stop breaking my things_ ,” he swung the curtains shut and turned back to his bed, fisting his fingers in the silks and furs lain across the mattress. _What are you thinking? Telling him things like that?_

* * *

Eren felt as though he were standing in a cathedral, empty and monumental, looking up at the drawn curtains above him and wondering about this mysterious man. Not just any man, for that matter, but the _King_.

He’d heard stories about King Levi: that his parents had shut themselves within the stone walls of their castle and never let anyone enter. He’d heard that Levi’s family had passed away in a storm at the mouth of the fjord on a trip to a neighboring kingdom, leaving the young prince to rule in their stead; but there were rumors about that as well. Rumors that spawned from the fateful night that left the city of Sina deep in the clutches of an eternal winter. Whispers of a curse, of sorcery.

Now, seeing the glistening halls of Levi’s retreat… he wondered if maybe some of those rumors were true. If maybe someone had cast a spell on their king. Or if he had cast the spell upon them. Now _that_ had his blood boiling. The thought that this frigid man had cast his people into desolation and despair. 

But something about the fear in Levi’s eyes when he had drawn close…

“Just what’s going on here?” Eren asked the frozen halls around him.


End file.
